Almost There! Research Center Update

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • January 29, 2018

The door needed to be made wider for accessibility so we re-used its historic parts to do so.

First coat of epoxy.

The heat is on.  The plaster walls are complete in the accessible bathroom, the new wall is complete in the accessible bathroom, the remainder of the outlets and lights are complete, emergency lights have been replaced, exit signs installed, and we have one-coat of epoxy on the basement floors where the collections will be stored (note – its currently shinier than star covered patent leather clogs!).  Several styles of chairs have made a pass through the building and been sat upon by several for comfort testing and height requirements.  Alarm company has completed its install.  Microscope chairs are ordered and the knobs are on the cabinets!  And the state-of-the-art collections cabinets have been fabricated and patiently wait on the other side of the Sound for a call to bring them over.

 

Now, we await the bathroom’s plumbing and lab sink with its accessible eyewash.  Then a few more items that require plumbing for the HVAC completion, a structural engineer’s inspection, and environmental engineer’s inspection and THEN, we can apply for our final inspection!  It’s been a long-haul but nothing comes easy when you are trying to work with a historic building and respect its historic fabric and work with its wonderful idiosyncrasies!

 

All that said, I will not exhale until the dotted line has been signed on.   Maybe then I will finally sleep at night!


Stay tuned!


JNLF

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August 1, 2025 marks Maria Mitchell’s 207 th Birthday! Since just about the founding of the Maria Mitchell Association – way back in 1902 – the MMA has hosted some celebration or marked the occasion of our namesake’s birth. From 3-5PM FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2025 , Vestal Street will be close to traffic and our Vestal Street properties will be open free to the public. We will have activities, games, art projects, live music with Susan Berman and Ray Saunders, and refreshments will be served. So, stop by and say hello! JNLF P.S. If we actually get rain, we will move our celebration to Saturday, August 2 - so keep your ears out! We will decide Wednesday.

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The MMA found its first astronomer in Margaret Harwood, a 1907 Radcliffe graduate who worked in the Harvard Observatory. Her fellowship began in 1912 and over the first year, she researched, continued to conduct public lectures and open nights, and worked with students of all ages – including those in the public schools. She returned to Cambridge for the winter months where she continued to work at the Observatory. In 1915, she took her leave as was authorized by the fellowship and acquired her master’s degree in astronomy at Berkeley. She returned to Nantucket in 1916, accepting the position of Director of the Observatory. This made Harwood the first woman to head a small private observatory in the United States. Harwood continued her research, with a focus on variable asteroids, published results of her work in numerous publications, and continued to lecture and host open nights. She had assistance from others, including island carpenter and school teacher, Alvin E. Paddock. Harwood became a “first –class celestial photographer . . . accumulating a valuable set of Nantucket photographic plates of variable stars . . .” which are still part of the MMA collection and were the first in the world to be completely digitized. Over the course of her tenure, more than 3,600 plates of the night sky were taken – more than 2,100 by Harwood herself. In the 1950s, Harwood was the first woman to gain access to the Mount Wilson Observatory then the world’s leading observatory, where she was able to use the photographic instruments to further her research. Harwood is seen in the photograph here as she looks for Venus during midday in the MMO using the Cooke-Clark telescope, guided by Maria Mitchell’s own Alvan Clark. JNLF

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